Best Specialty Kitchen Stores In Minnesota

March 4, 2014 7:00 AM

Minnesotans are fortunate to have several locally owned, high-end kitchen specialty stores. Not only can shoppers find any type of utensil or appliance imaginable, but also the knowledgeable staff in these stores and skilled cooking instructors in the classes offered have been very helpful and well received by local shoppers. Here are the five best.

We don’t know what we don’t know. That little truism hits home with just one visit to Kitchen Window in Uptown. See how many different ways there are to brew coffee, cut cheese or open wine bottles. Learn what to look for in iron cast skillets or woks. A friendly and knowledgeable staff is ready to help the cooking novice, the gift seeker or the culinary chef, and the helpful classes are geared to levels of proficiency on every subject. If that is not enough, Kitchen Window’s email newsletters are loaded with cooking tips, recipes and coupons for unique kitchen tools.

“Life happens in the kitchen,” say local owners Karl and Marie. That explains why more than 12,000 innovative culinary items can be obtained at any of Cooks of Crocus Hill stores on Grand Avenue in St. Paul, on France Avenue in Edina or The Chef’s Gallery in Stillwater. In addition, each store has a state-of-the-art cooking school with around 50 instructors helping kids, adults, novices and experts develop their culinary proficiency with classes almost every day.

The Mill City Museum store has a large selection of cookbooks, particularly local and regional titles, along with new and vintage-inspired kitchen items. The store is especially helpful when searching for a unique gift or a souvenir such as Minnesota-made prints, cards, pottery or jewelry. Look for fun aprons, one-of-a-kind toys as well as cookbooks featuring Betty Crocker and the Pillsbury Doughboy.

The largest hometown family owned and operated retail appliance specialist with the unusual name has been around for 60 years and now has eight retail outlets around the metro area. Shoppers can go to Apple Valley, Coon Rapids, Edina, Maple Grove, Rochester, Saint Paul, Woodbury or the Minneapolis Outlet Center. Each location maintains sales associates and service technicians, many of whom have been with the firm for more than 10 years. Warners’ Stellian claims the more than 50 brands in its stores are the largest selection in the area. A score of the Warner family, now in its second and third generation, own, operate and work in the business, holding true to the plural possessive that it is a Warners’ Stellian.

ApplianceSmart attracts value-conscious customers with its volume buying power of the latest cooking appliances, dishwashers, refrigerators and small appliances from major manufacturers. Shoppers can find stores in Apple Valley, Champlin, Eden Prairie, Maplewood, Rochester, St. Cloud or St. Paul. It all started when Jack Cameron, a former accountant at IBM, had an idea. Why not contract with big-box retailers to deliver their appliances with the added free recycling and haul-away service? Used appliances with resale value were sold in Cameron’s store on University Avenue in St Paul. The enterprise has grown to 18 stores in four states and eight stores in Minnesota with the same focus on outstanding customer service.

Robin Johnson was born in Annandale, Minn. and graduated from Richfield High School and then the University of Minnesota where he studied Political Science, Business and Industrial Relations. A writer for Examiner.com, he also consults with a variety of organizations and individuals helping them develop and grow. His work can be found at Examiner.com.